The etymological root of the word Europe is the Phoenician ereb, the darkness after the sun has gone down. Here in France light leaves us early and the darkest time of the year is before Christmas.
The landscape out my window looks dirty. Northern skies are grey, any sun that dares come through the clouds is weak and the place seems tired out by summer frivolity and autumn trauma. The economic woes of the continent reflect on my window where naked trees wait for a giant white dump from the skies to cover everything in sight.
Nietzsche said only money could unite Europe and in 2010 Angela Merkel stated, 'If the euro fails, so will the idea of the European Union.'
Europe is the home of universalism. It's also known for imperialism, nationalism and utopian projects. It's the land on the hunt for transcendental light. The European obsession with universalism justified its colonial ambition, wrought havoc across the globe, and established Europe's wealth.
The EU was a panacea for Europe's nationalist and imperial history. Europe's universalist tendencies were vested in the experiment with an internationalist supra-national body, and all hope was pinned on the common currency as the saviour able to transcend internal differences within the continent.
The 'idea' of Europe has baffled philosophers and commentators for centuries and the question wasn't going to vanish because global markets ordered it to. The emphasis on the euro as the forerunner in the race towards EU unity was at the cost of the hard work of governance and grappling with difference — the real work of politics. Now the grand visions and optimism about the EU lie in debt fragments and the same question returns to haunt — What is Europe?
The idea that economic unity, without difficult political engagement, can magically create equality and community has served to reveal, not only the racism that persists against immigrants from outside Europe, but also the hold France and Germany have upon the 'peripheral' EU nations.
Perhaps Europe, following neo-liberal fashions, ran too hard towards fiscal unity and neglected its divided history. Underlying this is a suspicion that some elements of European thought contain a constant temptation towards hubris that requires an 'other' to support it's superiority complex —